Add Austin Trout to the list of names not fighting Saul Alvarez on September 15.

Since the beginning of June, Trout has found himself in the constant revolving door of possible opponents for Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. The 26-year-old WBA junior middleweight titlist appeared to be the frontrunner on two separate occasions, once after James Kirkland pulled out and then after Victor Ortiz’s recent loss to Josesito Lopez. Now, for reasons unknown to him, Trout finds himself having to find another opponent after talks had fallen apart.

“I’m assuming we didn’t get too far. I hadn’t heard anything. As far as the monetary and everything, I’d assume that’d be addressed first,” Trout said. “[Promoters and management] hadn’t told me anything about money. Obviously, I’m more interested about being the man at the end of the day.”

An opportunity to fight Alvarez would have moved Trout closer to becoming “the man” at 154. The fight would have been a unification for the “regular” WBA title and Alvarez’s WBC strap. Trout liked his chances based on what he’s previously seen.

“I think it would be a good fight. I’m not saying he’d be easy at all but I could definitely win. I’d have to beat him decisively if I wanted to get a decision,” he stated.

“I hope to get in there someday. I just hope he continues to win before someone else beats him.”

However, not everyone seems to be a fan of Trout and Alvarez potentially meeting. In a press conference, WBC President Jose Sulaiman said his sanctioning body would lose “authority and exclusivity” if the two unified and would refuse to sanction the fight. Trout was baffled by the comments.

“What is this about exclusivity? If it’s about exclusiveness, that doesn’t make no sense. Is [Sulaiman] trying to say that I don’t deserve to have the WBC belt if I beat ‘Canelo’ or is he saying that he knows I’m going to win, so he doesn’t want me to have it?” Trout pondered.

Regardless of the WBC, the fight would also have to be sold to the public. Due to the dryness of his last fight against Delvin Rodriguez, Trout believes his performance hurt the public perception of a fight between him and Alvarez.

“I got the win but what are you going to do? Win today; look good tomorrow,” he said. “I’m not disappointed with my performance. I felt like that’s not the kind of fighter I am. I should have engaged more. If I did that, I would have knocked him out.”

Still, Alvarez-Trout seems to be off the table for now. If the money wasn’t an issue, what could be holding up the fight?

Last week, Trout told BoxingScene’s David Greisman that he would want the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association to be involved in the fight. Could Golden Boy Promotions’ feud with VADA be the reason that they are moving on?

“I don’t believe we even got to that point. That’s the best agency I was thinking but we didn’t negotiate the VADA testing yet,” he said. “I don’t think we should scrap the whole fight because of the VADA testing. Alvarez had already taken it before; you know what I mean?”

Now without an opponent, Austin Trout will continue his search for the next available fighter.

“I would love to get [Cornelius] Bundrage but I hear ‘Canelo’ is eyeing that too. He’s taking my ‘A’ and ‘B’ away. My goal is to get another belt and I also want to be a legend. There’s more than one way to get that.”

Being a younger fighter, Trout wants to get back into the ring quickly. Even without Alvarez, his aim is to return in August or September. That has appeared to be the plan all along.

Originally, Trout was scheduled to face former WBO titlist Sergei Dzinziruk on August 25. However, HBO pulled the plug on the fight when Trout instead decided to take his latest fight against Delvin Rodriguez on rival network Showtime.

“Al Haymon thought that was the best move. If I did what was I supposed to do, it would have been the best move for me,” Trout said. “Showtime was a great audience and a great card to be on.”

“I’m going to get back on TV soon enough; I’m sure. I just need the exposure and be able perform to the best of my abilities while in the spotlight. I’m young, man.”